Texas Hold'em

How To Play

What is Texas Hold'em?

Texas Hold'em is one of the simplest, most action-packed and prestigious of all the poker variants. It's the game of choice to decide the world champion of poker in the €10,000 buy in World Series of Poker main event, and is the most popular variant of poker being played today.

How is it played?

In Texas Hold'em, all players are dealt two cards face down. There is a betting interval which is followed by three community cards being dealt face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the 'Flop'. There is another betting interval, followed by a fourth community card being dealt in the middle of the table, known as the 'Turn'. There's another betting interval, followed by the final community card being dealt, known as the 'River'. One final betting round takes place, and then hands go to showdown. Players use both the community cards and the cards they have to make the best five card poker hand, with the best hand at showdown winning.

What are the blinds like?

Unlike some forms of poker that use an ante system, Hold'em uses a system of forced bets called 'blinds'. These are two bets made before the cards are dealt - one small and one big - that slowly rotate around the table with the dealer button to ensure everyone pays them equally. They always fall to the left of the dealer button, with the small blind on the immediate left of the dealer, and the big blind to the immediate left of the small blind.

How much can I bet during the game?

Hold'em is played in three key variants: limit, pot limit, and no limit. In limit Hold'em, bet sizes are in set units, and you can only raise by whatever the limit is on that table (nearly always a set figure for pre flop and on the flop, followed by a doubling in the bet size for turn and river). In pot limit games, players can only bet up to the size of the pot at any given point. In no limit games, you can bet however much you want at any point in the game.

Are there any other variants of Texas Hold'em?

Hold'em is not played as a High/Low game like many other forms of poker. One of its great strengths has always been its simplicity and ease of play.

Are you up to the challenge?

Texas Hold'em is the premier poker game being played today. It's fast and action packed; requiring skill, cunning and guile to succeed. It has rightly been described as the 'Cadillac of Poker' by some of the game's very best, and it is a great game in both tournaments and cash games. A game that takes a few minutes to learn and a life-time to master, Texas Hold'em provides one of the best poker experiences available.

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